Los Angeles, Calif. - In the second day of the MPSF Championships, Pacific came away with the victory in the women's 500 Free thanks to an amazing swim by Jana Burkard. The Tigers also finished second in three of the other seven swimming events in the day. Pacific is currently in second place in overall points for the men with 194 and in fourth for the women with 174.
Jana Burkard put up a blazing 4:49.61 in the finals, shaving four seconds off her prelim time of 4:53.27, which was also the best in the tournament. It was the best time of the year for Burkard as well. Pacific has now won the women's 500 Free two straight years at the MPSF Championships.
Lee Ward had the best time for Pacific in the men's 500 Free with a 4:33.30 in the prelims and a 4:29.86 in the finals. Both times were the fastest for any Pacific man in the 500 Free this year as Ward came away with the consolation final victory.
In the 200 IM, Whitney Jorgensen took home a bronze with a third-place time of 2:00.91 while Curtis Klein took third for the men in the consolation final with a 1:50.83. Jorgensen's prelim time of 2:00.49 was the second-best in the prelims. Cristina Mardones also swam strong in the 200 IM, taking fourth in the prelims with a 2:01.67 and fifth in the finals with a 2:01.36.
After taking fourth in the prelims of the women's 50 Free with a 23.24, Kenna Ramey found her groove and finished second in the finals. Ramey swam a 22.91, half a second faster than Pacific's previous best this year, which was also recorded by Ramey.
For the men, the 50 Free saw a run of Tigers all sizzling. Pacific took second, third, and fourth in the 50 Free, sending five swimmers total to the eight-man finals. It was the first time in school history that more than three swimmers have made the finals in any MPSF event. Yahav Shahaff took second with a 20.03, with Miles MacKenzie just on his tail at 20.12. Mitchell Ongstad came in fourth at 20.22. Casey Fleming and Dylan Toy also made the finals after swimming 20.37 and 20.52 in the prelims. Fleming's finals time was 20.44, while Toy swam a 20.76.
To finish the day, the Tigers men took second in the 200 Free Relay and demolished the previous school record at Pacific. The team of Shahaff, Ongstad, MacKenzie, and Fleming swam a 1:18.92, less than half a second off the lead time in the best time in Pacific history. That time was also the 11th-best in the nation this year.
The MPSF Championships will continue tomorrow at 10:00 am. The Friday meet will include the 400 IM, the 100 Fly, the 200 Free, the 100 Breast, and the 100 Back, as well as the 400 Medley Relay.
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